Study used artificial intelligence to analyze predictors
Those who demand instant gratification may be less likely to acquire future wealth according to a ground-breaking new study.
Academics from Temple University in Pennsylvania have used artificial intelligence and machine learning for the first time, to study that factors that suggest future affluence.
They found that an important element of higher income is the ability to delay instant gratification or “delay discounting”. This factor beat race, age, ethnicity, and height.
While previous studies have shown these factors to be important to future prosperity, it has not been possible to rank them, says lead author Dr William Hampton, now at a university in Switzerland.
"All sorts of things predict income. We knew that this behavioral variable, delay discounting, was also predictive -- but we were really curious how it would stack up against more common-sense predictors like education and age,” he said. “Using machine learning, our study was the first to create a validated rank ordering of age, occupation, education, geographic location, gender, race, ethnicity, height, age and delay discounting in income prediction."
The biggest factors for future affluence
Delay discounting was not the highest-ranked factor though with occupation and education the best predictors of high income, followed by location (as determined by zip code) and gender - with males earning more than females.
Dr Hampton says that learning to forego small, instant rewards in favour of larger returns later, is a good lesson to learn.
“This is probably easier said than done, as very few people naturally enjoy waiting, but our results suggest that those who develop the ability to delay gratification are likely investing in their own earning potential."
The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
